Survey: Dubai Set to Become One of World's Leading Maritime Centres

The survey also placed Dubai in the top five for port logistics and the top 10 in competitiveness and attractiveness.

A new survey has named Dubai as being on track to become one of the world's leading maritime centres in the next five years, the Dubai government announced in an emailed statement. 

According to a survey by the Menon Business Economics Group, Dubai will rank as the seventh Leading Maritime Capital of the World by 2020, ahead of cities including as London, New York, Tokyo, Copenhagen, and Rio de Janeiro.

The survey also placed Dubai in the top five for port logistics and the top 10 in competitiveness and attractiveness. 

"We are pleased with the Dubai standing in the maritime sector global ranking," said Abdulla Abdul Rahman Al-Shaibani, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai.

"Being the number one in the region, and among the top players globally, indicates that we are moving in the right direction toward accomplishing the vision of our wise leadership."

H.E. Sultan Bin Sulayem, President of the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), also added that the port would continue to push for infrastructure investment, "impactful" policies and local expertise. 

"We will also aim for excellence in other key indicators such as shipping services, maritime legal expertise, maritime insurance, and competitiveness and attractiveness," he said. 

The survey polled 1,600 maritime professionals from 33 countries with maritime cities benchmarked based on the four main maritime indicators of finance, technology, ports and logistics, and shipping, in addition to an overall assessment of the cities' competitiveness and attractiveness.

Last year, Dubai also set up a maritime arbitration centre to settle disputes involving marine trade in the Middle East.